What the World Needs Now
by LDSJediMaster
Summary: After the institution on The Marriage Law, Katie Bell is faced with the prospect of having to marry Draco Malfoy. Seeing no way out of her fate, she turns to the only person she can think of, her old boyfriend Arthur Smith. First Fan-fiction. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first ever fan-fiction, so please bear with me. This story is inspired by, based off of, and is essentially a fan-fiction of Marriage, Babies and Hatred, written by cullenchick-25x. Big thanks goes to her for allowing me to write this story as well as being my beta-reader. This wouldn't have happened with out her. I also highly recommend reading Marriage, Babies and Hatred. Not only will this story make more sense if you do, but it is also an amazing piece of writing.**

**Summary: After the institution on The Marriage Law, Katie Bell is faced with the prospect of having to marry Draco Malfoy. Seeing no way out of her fate, she turns to the only person she can think of, her old boyfriend Arthur Smith. Together they fight the Ministry, trying to forge a future of happiness not only for themselves, but for the rest of the wizarding world.**

**Ok, so I don't know if the summary is that great, but I hope you get gist of the idea for this story. As I said, this is my first fan-fiction, so please read and review. Advice and constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated, but please, no flaming, bashing, or anything of that nature. Anyways, I hope I've covered everything and that you guys enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own or claim to own any part of the Harry Potter franchise or the song What the World Needs Now is Love.**

Arthur Smith violently threw his copy of the Daily Prophet against the wall, leaning back in his chair and letting out a groan. He had just now had time to read it, but it seemed to only be filled with Ministry propaganda on The Law, how it was the only way to save wizarding kind and other crap like that. He had gotten himself worked up to a frenzy writing his latest article, and the last thing he wanted to read was people praising that idiot Shacklebolt's law. _The only way my foot, _he thought bitterly. The wizarding world would have been just fine without the Ministry thinking it had to solve every problem. Yeah, they'd taken some major losses, but did they think that because of that, the next generation wouldn't get married or something? And, why on Earth did they think they needed them to start having children so quickly? All of this was proving just how idiotic and incompetent politicians and the government in general really were. Arthur found himself wishing he had stayed in America instead of coming back and getting caught up in all this mess.

His plans, along with every other witch and wizard his age currently residing in the UK, had been blown to bits. He had been planning on staying in England for a few years, working, dating, and spending time with his mom before going back home to America and joining the military. Now he was at risk of getting stuck with a wife he didn't know, and being required to see her every two weeks. The least the Ministry could have done was let them choose their own partners but no, in their infinite wisdom, or stupidity in this case, they had decided to pair couples together randomly. It was just sheer idiocy!

Looking at his computer screen, and the half written article he had open in Microsoft Word, Arthur decided he had had enough for one evening. The clock on the computer said it was a little after nine, meaning that he had been writing for nearly four hours. Saving the article and turning off his computer, he got up and went over to his couch. Throwing himself down on it, Arthur flicked his wand at his stereo, prompting it to turn on. He needed to calm down a bit, and hopefully the music would help. Stretching out on the couch, fully intending on getting up in a few minutes to make a quick dinner before going to bed, Arthur quickly fell asleep.

********************************

Katie leaned her head against the door to her flat, letting it all sink in. She was going to be a Malfoy. She was going to get married to Draco, and become Mrs. Katie Malfoy, and there was nothing she could do about. Tears had started to stream down her face. She was going to be stuck in that awful mansion for the rest of her life, raising his children, being his wife. She would never know what it was like to be in love, to have a husband that loved her, that wanted to marry her for who she was. Silent sobs started to rack her body. Malfoy didn't care about her. Maybe he was interested in her now because she resisted him, but once they were married, that interest would disappear. He was only marrying her because the law required him to. The rest of her existence was going to be horrible, and there was nothing she could do about it. She just wished she could run away from it all, from the Malfoy's, from the ministry, and especially from that stupid, horrible law.

Standing up straight and trying to stop her tears, Katie decided she wanted to do something. She wasn't sure what, but the last thing she wanted to do right now was go lie down and feel sorry for herself. If she was going to be stuck with Malfoy for the rest of her life, she wanted to do something, to have something bright and joyful to remember. On an impulse she Apparated… And found herself standing in front of the door to her old boyfriend's flat. They'd been friends ever since he had started at Hogwarts during their fifth year, and their friendship had grown from there. They had never really broken up. He had been away in America when the law had been passed, and after he had come back they hadn't really found time to talk, or write, or anything. Life had just been one big mess since the law had been passed.

Raising her hand to knock, she paused. This was probably a really stupid idea. It would only make matters worse, at least for her. Seeing him again would only make the prospect of marrying Malfoy even more horrible. Then again, he probably would be furious to know she had gone to see another man. With that thought in her head, she gave the door three sharp knocks. She waited for a few moments, listening for any movements inside. She turned and was about to leave when she heard someone on the inside start to fiddle with the locks.

She turned around just as the door opened. Standing there, silhouetted in the doorway was Arthur Smith. His hair and his clothes looked slightly dishevelled and he was blurry eyed, like he had just woken up. For some reason her heart chose that moment to beat faster.

********************************

"Katie," Arthur stated lamely, pleasantly surprised to find who was knocking on his door. In his grogginess at being woken up by the first knock he had been afraid it was some Ministry officials coming to arrest him or something absurd like that. Seeing Katie was such a pleasant surprise. They hadn't seen each other since he had left for America in mid-June, and he'd been so busy trying to fight the law since he got back that he hadn't found time to write her or anything. Seeing her standing there, as beautiful as ever in her black dress robes, made him feel guilty for not going to see her sooner, especially since she had obviously been crying.

"I'm sorry I woke you," She said, blushing slightly, "It was stupid of me. I'll just go now and…" She trailed off on the last part, looking down at her shoes. Arthur could see tears starting to form again at the corner of her eyes. Something was obviously wrong. He and Katie had been friends at Hogwarts and had been dating since they graduated, but he had never seen her looking this upset.

"No, no, you're fine, come in." Arthur said, opening the door wider to let her in. She came in and stood there awkwardly, still looking at her feet, as he closed the door. Arthur felt a little awkward himself, not knowing what to think of their relationship now that the law had changed everything. Gently grabbing her arm, he felt her stiffen at his touch; he guided her over to the couch where she sat down, still looking at her feet. He thought of making some sarcastic remark about how fascinating her feet must be, he and Katie used to razz each other a lot, but he decided that now would be a very bad time. Sitting down on the couch, Arthur looked at her, concerned. She was still staring at her feet, and he could see more tears rolling down her cheeks. Finally after about a minute, which felt like an eternity, Arthur reached out and touched her shoulder. "Katie, what's wrong," He asked simply, obvious concern in his voice.

As soon as he said that, it was like a dam had burst. Katie threw her arms around him and started to sob uncontrollably. In the midst of her sobbing Arthur could hear her say, "I can't marry him, I just can't."

Arthur just sat there and held her, rubbing her back. "It's okay, Katie," He murmured to her, hoping to help calm her down, "I'm here. I've got you. I won't let anything happen to you." He searched through his brain, trying to remember who the Ministry had assigned to be her partner. He knew he had read who it was at some point, he just couldn't remember who. But whoever it was, Katie was obviously upset about it. One thing became very clear in Arthur's mind though. He wasn't going to let the Ministry force Katie to marry someone she didn't want. Katie was a very dear friend, and the last thing he wanted to see was her unhappy.

Arthur wasn't certain how long he had been holding Katie as she cried. He kept rubbing her back, trying to soothe her, but his mind was also full of thoughts about what could be done about the Ministry. Lost in thought, it took him a while to realize that Katie had stopped crying. Looking at her, he saw that she had fallen asleep. Standing up slowly and carefully, Arthur lowered her head to the couch, making sure not to wake her. He then lifted her legs up so they were no longer hanging off the cushion and removed her shoes. Going into his bedroom, he grabbed his comforter, which he gently wrapped around her. She might be mad at him in the morning for not waking her so she could go home, but what she obviously needed was sleep. He could hear music playing from the stereo he had turned on earlier that evening.

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love  
It's the only thing that there's just too little of  
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,  
No, not just for some but for everyone."

Arthur couldn't help but smile at the irony of the song. The entire wizarding world was trying to recover from a terrible war. Love was what they all needed right now. It was a pity that what the Ministry was doing was only making things worse. Looking down at Katie, he thought once again about how beautiful she was. Brushing her hair out of her face, he bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. As he stood up, he saw her smile in her sleep and couldn't help smiling himself. "I'll see you in the morning beautiful," He whispered softly before heading to his room to get some sleep of his own, flicking his wand at the stereo on the way, turning it off.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Alright, here's chapter 2, I hope you guy like it. Again, any suggestions, critism, etc. are welcome. Just as a reminder, this takes place after Chapter 21 of ****Marriage, Babies and Hatred. That's the point of divergence. Katie has not married Draco in this one. Just thought I'd make that clear just in case people just confused. Also, thanks for the reviews, they were greatly appreciated.**

**Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

Katie was running. She was running harder and faster than she ever had in her life. She was running for her life, holding her skirts up as high as she could, dodging trees and jumping over roots in this dark, dark forest. All she knew was she had to get away. She couldn't let him catch her. She could hear the click-click-click of her pursuer's feet, and she knew he was gaining on her. She knew she couldn't escape; her lungs were burning from running so long and so fast, but still she kept running. Her foot caught a tree root sticking up from the ground, unseen in the dark, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Now, now darling, this is what happens when you run from me. You've gone and gotten yourself hurt," an all too familiar drawling voice stated. Looking up in horror, Katie saw him, the thing she'd been running from. From the waist up it was Draco Malfoy, wearing a tuxedo, but it had the body of a spider. "Now you look like a complete mess. What will people think when they see you looking like this at your wedding?" the thing continued, smiling maliciously down at her.

"I'M NOT MARRYING YOU!" Katie screamed, throwing a rock at the spider-Malfoy, who calmly dodged it, still smiling. Katie was on her feet again, slowly backing away slowly as he slowly walked towards her. The dress she was wearing, her wedding dress, was now torn, covered and dirt and blood.

"You don't have much choice in the matter, pet. The Ministry already said you were mine. Now just stop fighting and come along like a good Malfoy wife should." The thing was still grinning at her. Turning to run to run away from it again, Katie found herself facing a giant spider web. Looking all around her in panic, all she could see was massive spider webs, strung between the trees. Crawling all over these webs were more spider-people like Malfoy, dressed like they were there for a wedding. Her wedding she realized in horror. "You see pet, there's no place for you to run. No place for you to hide. You're mine now. You're mine, and you will be for the rest of your life." She felt arms grab her around the waist, and she was picked up off the ground. Struggling with all her might, Katie tried to break free, but to no avail. Malfoy was lowering his mouth to hers, his lips pursed to kiss her. Something inside her told her that if he managed to kiss her, all her hopes and dreams were lost forever. She let out a scream of pure terror as his lips nearly touched hers.

********************

Katie Bell let out a scream, trying to sit up suddenly and falling off the sofa. She lay there on the ground, breathing heavily, telling herself to calm down, that it was only a dream. The only problem was part of it was true. She was going to have to marry Malfoy, and there was nothing she could do about it. Just that thought made her want to cry.

"Is everything alright Katie?" A concerned voice said as someone knelt down beside her. Katie looked to see the face of Arthur Smith, obviously worried about her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She said, lifting herself off the ground and sitting down on the sofa again, Arthur gently holding her arm and helping her up. Not that she needed it, but it was a sweet gesture. Katie was slightly confused though. What was he doing in her flat? And why had she been sleeping on the sofa? Looking around the room, she quickly realized that they were in his flat, not hers. _Okay,_ she thought, _so what am I doing in his flat?_

As Katie sat on the sofa, trying to remember the events of last night, Arthur picked up the blanket that had been covering her and started folding it. Katie remembered that she had had dinner with Draco and Narcissa Malfoy, and then they, mostly Narcissa really, had talked about wedding plans. It had been horrible, and unfortunately, that seemed to be what she would be faced with every day in the future. She remembered that Draco had said something about tea with his Mother sometime today, but he hadn't told her a time or anything like that. That was just one more thing on her never-ending list to dread about being a Malfoy.

"You came over last night, at about nine," Arthur stated helpfully, laying the folded blanket across the back of the couch and sitting down. "You seemed quite upset and, well, long story short you fell to sleep, and I figured it'd be best if I just let you sleep."

"Oh, yeah… I remember now," Katie said dumbly. She started to blush, remembering what had happened last night, both of them sitting on this sofa, her sobbing into his shoulder and him trying to comfort her. She knew it had been a bad idea to come over. It had been a really stupid thing for her to do. She scooted over to the opposite side of the sofa, as far away from Arthur as she could get without falling off. "I'm sorry about that. It was dumb of me to bother you like that."

"Nonsense. You know I'll always be here for you," Arthur said, smiling warmly. Katie couldn't help but blush more. She really needed to get out of here, away from Arthur. Being around him was only making things worse. It wasn't that she didn't like Arthur, it was just the opposite. The problem was she really, really liked Arthur. She liked to be around him. He was nice, and considerate, and sincere, always there if she needed him, but not pushy or overbearing. It was like he was everything Malfoy wasn't. She had sometimes wondered, even fantasized she admitted to herself, about marrying him. That's why it was so bad for her to be here, for her to have come. It was just making everything worse.

"I've got to go." Katie said abruptly, standing up. "Draco said I was supposed have tea with his mother and…"

"Who said what?" Arthur asked sharply.

"I said that Draco Malfoy told me that I'm supposed to have tea with his mother today." Katie replied sharply. She wasn't certain what she was madder about, the fact that Arthur had asked or the fact that she was using tea with Narcissa as an excuse to leave.

"And why and on earth would you want to have tea with them?"

"Well, you know, seeing as he is my fiancé and his mother will soon be my mother-in-law, I figure it might be a good idea if I got to know them before I got married."

"So what, you're just going to go along with the law then!"

"Well it's not like I have much of a choice in the matter!" Katie responded angrily, her voice rising. The stupid boy was just making things worse. She should just leave, just get out of his stupid flat, but she could feel her blood starting to boil. She wanted to fight with someone, wanted someone she could take her anger out on.

"What do you mean you don't have a choice?! You always have a choice! Are you saying you're just going to go along with whatever the Ministry tells you to do?!" Arthur's voice was getting louder too.

"Well it's not like all of us can run home America to escape all our troubles!" Katie knew she had gone too far with this last statement. She could see the hurt and anger on Arthur's face. She immediately wished she could take the words back, to run over and hug him, and tell him she was sorry. It would be better this way though. While sharp breaks hurt, they were always the best in the long run. After what she had said, she wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to see her again. While it hurt now, in the long run this would all be for the best. As she reached for the doorknob to leave, she heard Arthur start to speak.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Miss Bell, I'm still here." He was obviously very angry. She could tell by the tone in his voice. It was low, almost a growl. It hurt to hear him call her Miss Bell, especially the bitterness that been there when he had said it. Katie felt tears starting to form in her eyes. "Yeah, I could have just stayed in America, but I came back. And do you want to know why? Because there are some things that are worth fighting for, no matter how hard it is to fight for them. This law that Shacklebolt's passed is tyrannical. It's downright evil. I couldn't in good conscience abandon my friends, all those who I went to school with, all the people I came to know and love be trampled underfoot by some idiotic law. None of you seem to be willing to fight, and maybe I'm just wasting my time, but there are some things that you just don't give up on, that you don't stop fighting for." Katie could hear the anger in his voice slowly drain away while he talked. She knew she should leave now, but she couldn't bring herself to open the door. "You're one of those things Katie." He said softly, "You're why I've stayed."

With that Katie broke. Silent tears started streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, Arthur, I-I'm sorry." With that she opened the door and ran out of the apartment. She could hear Arthur screaming her name as she ran.

********************

"Katie! Katie, wait!" Arthur yelled as Katie ran from his apartment. He'd really screwed up big time. He and Katie had had arguments before, but nothing like this. This had been the worst of them all, worse than all of their other fights combined. They had both said very hurtful things, and now it might all be over. Without thinking, Arthur ran after her, not even bothering to close the door.

He could hear footsteps running down the stairs, and he instinctively ran after her, taking the stairs two or three at a time, still yelling her name. He lived on the sixth floor of this building, and on every landing he could see people sticking their heads out of their doors to see what all the commotion was about, but Arthur didn't notice them at all, all he could think about was Katie. Reaching the bottom floor, Arthur burst out the front door. It was pouring outside; rain was coming down by the bucketful. Looking up and down the street, Arthur saw a figure dart around the corner to his right. Hoping it was Katie and calling out her name again, Arthur took off after the figure.

********************

Katie didn't know how long she had been running. It felt like it had been for ages, her lungs burned because of it, and she had been sobbing the whole time. She kept trying to tell herself this was for the best, but she just couldn't believe that any longer. She felt like someone had ripped her heart to shreds. She could occasionally hear someone shout her name from somewhere behind her and she knew it was Arthur. She wanted to run to him, to throw herself in to his arms and tell him how sorry she was, but she knew she should not, could not do that. Every time she heard him call her name she ran even harder, and started to sob harder to. As she went to run around another corner, she wasn't sure where she was at now, she was completely lost, her foot caught something unseen in the dark of this thunderstorm. Katie fell painfully to the sidewalk. She couldn't run anymore. She was too tired. She just lay there on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. She knew she had to be an absolute mess, her best set of dress robes torn and ruined, and herself with cut scrapes and bruise all over her face and arms.

She could hear someone running up from behind her, their footsteps splashing noisily as they approached. Soon she felt herself being picked up by wet, cold, and yet strangely comforting arms. Looking up into their face, Katie saw Arthur looking down at her with concern. "I'm sorry," He murmured softly as he picked her up. "I'm sorry for what I said. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"Same here," Katie said between sobs, "Please, please forgive me Arthur. I'm so sorry."

Leaning down, Arthur kissed her gently on the lips. "What's there for me to forgive beautiful." Katie wanted to laugh, to sing, to dance, all at once. Instead she snuggled her body closer to the man she loved as he carried away from there, out of the rain, to someplace that was safe. Katie Bell couldn't have been happier, because in the arms of this man, all her fears and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note: Here is chapter 3, sorry for taking so long to get it up. Life's been busy, so what can I say. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, obviously.**

Katie Bell stood at the door of the flat she shared with Alicia, soaked to the skin and shivering. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt that Arthur had lent to her. They were far too large for her and soaked through. After their little adventure that morning, Arthur had brought her back to his flat where she had taken a shower and changed into these. She'd stayed there until four that afternoon, just sitting, talking, and laughing. They'd managed to magically repair her ruined dress robes and between magic and Arthur's first aid kit, they'd managed to take care of most of her scrapes and bruises. She'd stayed there for several hours before leaving, wishing that she could have stayed there. It was early enough that she might still have to have tea with Narcissa, but she thought it would have been rude for her to stay any longer, Arthur undoubtedly had things he needed to do. Outside his door as she prepared to Apparate, she thought of one thing she could do to make sure she missed tea with Mrs. Malfoy.

And that was why she was now standing outside the door to her flat, dripping wet and looking like a drowned rat. She wasn't certain what time it was, but it had to be well after five, possibly as late as six. She had spent the last several hours wandering Muggle London before finally making her way back to Diagon Alley. She knew Alicia would be furious at her for having been gone for so long without telling her, but she couldn't stop smiling. Pulling back the hood, after being out for so long both it and her hair wet through and through, she opened the door to her flat and walked in.

"KATIE!" She heard Alicia shriek, jumping off the couch and running to her, giving her a big hug. Pushing her back out to arms length, Alicia looked Katie in the eyes. "Where on Earth have you been? And why are you so wet? I've been so worried about you, just disappearing like that, and for so long." Katie was about to excitedly tell Alicia what had happened, but another voice spoke up before she could, wiping the smile off her face instantly.

"And what, might I ask, are wearing?" Draco Malfoy drawled, walking over to Katie and Alicia.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" Katie asked coldly, turning to face Malfoy and folding her arms across her chest.

"I had come to pick you up for tea, but when I'd found out you were missing, I decided it would be best for me to stay. I was just about to go looking for you when you came in. You had me worried, darling, disappearing the way you did." There did seem to be a touch of relief in his voice, but Katie doubted it was sincere. He was probably more worried about her making him look bad than her actual well being.

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine, so you can go now." Katie told him sharply. He was ruining what had been quite a pleasant day, one of the best she'd had in some time.

"Well, I'll need to explain to Mother why you didn't come to tea. She was quite disappointed you know. She really does value promptness and courtesy. I'm sure she'd being willing to let you make up for it by coming over tomorrow instead."

"Well you can tell your mother that what happened to me is none of her business, and that I won't be joining her for tea tomorrow. Or ever for that matter."

Draco raised his right eyebrow in a highly annoying fashion. "Really dear, I had thought we had gotten past this. You're going to be a Malfoy Bride, and there's nothing you can do it about it. You know there's no point in fighting the Ministry on this, so why don't you be a good girl and do what you're told."

Malfoy said all this like he was explaining it to a child, an exceptionally slow child. For Katie this was the last straw. "Get out," she said in a very dangerous, icy tone, pulling out her wand. "Get out now before I hex you."

Malfoy's hand twitched, instinctively going for his wand before he could stop it. "Katie, dear," He started to say cautiously, clear surprised by this sudden change of events.

"Five," Katie said menacingly, pointing her wand at Malfoy's throat.

"Please Katie, if there's something bothering you, let's talk about it."

"Four."

"Katie, please; just put your wand away. There's no need for you to do anything rash."

"Three," Katie took a step closer.

"We're both adults here. Surely we kind solve whatever problem you're facing without having to resort to violence." Draco shot a quick look at Alicia, hoping that maybe she could help her friend see reason, but Alicia just shook her head, clearly not wanting to get involved.

"Two"

The situation was clearly out of Draco's hands now. Katie clearly wasn't going to listen to reason. "You obviously need some time to cool down, so I'll leave. I'll come back tomorrow." With that he turned sharply on his heels and quickly left.

"One," Katie said softly as Malfoy closed the door behind him, a small smile on her face. After dancing to Malfoy's tune for the past weeks, it felt good to finally be in control.

"Katie, what one earth has gotten into you?" Alicia asked.

"I've been with Arthur!" Katie said excitedly, her attitude changing in an instant once again. Alicia opened her mouth as if to say something, but Katie went on talking, "After dinner with Malfoy, which was absolutely horrible by the way, I went over to Arthur's place. I was so upset I didn't know what I was doing. He let me in and, well, I started crying and stuff, and fell asleep. This morning I woke up in his flat, we had an argument, and today had been just such a wonderful day I don't know how to explain it."

Alicia looked at her thoroughly confused. "So having an argument with your ex-boyfriend makes for wonderful day?"

"No. That part was completely horrible." Katie's words were muffled as she pulled the sweatshirt over her head. She walked into the bedroom, and started to change into her pajamas. She'd been so wet and cold today; it would feel nice to wear something warm and dry. "After the argument I ran out into the streets, and Arthur chased after me. We made up and he took me back to his place, where he let me take a shower and borrow into some of his clothes so I could wear something dry."

"Well, I guess that would explain the clothes," Alicia said dryly, sitting down on her bed. Arthur was very large, and while Katie was of an average size and height, his clothes and been quite big on her.

"Yeah, well, then we sat and talked for a while. It was just fun." By now Katie had changed, and she sat down opposite of Alicia. "Well, when I finally had to leave, I knew that it was still early enough that Malfoy would still want me to have tea with his mother, so I decided to walk home."

Alicia rolled her eyes, "And that would explain why you were so wet."

"Exactly," Katie said with great enthusiasm, a huge grin on her face.

"Are you sure going to see Arthur was a good idea?"

"It seemed really stupid last night, but now I know it was probably the best thing I could have done. In fact, I wish I had gone to see him sooner."

"But won't that make things harder? I mean with The Law and having to marry Malfoy and all."

"I'm not marrying Malfoy," Katie stated. "And I never will. That's one of the things Arthur and I talked about. The Ministry has absolutely no right to tell us who to marry. It's wrong, and I'm not going along with it anymore."

"Loads of people have tried fighting it Katie, but it just doesn't work. It's a stupid idea, and will only get you into more trouble."

"I don't care. They can deport me from the country, or send me to Azkaban for all I care. I'm not marrying Malfoy. Not ever."

"Really Katie, marrying Malfoy can't be nearly as bad as Azkaban, can it?" The look that Katie gave Alicia made it very clear that it could. "Look, you are my best friend, I really don't want to see you getting hurt, and that's just what will happen if you fight the Ministry."

"Arthur says that if we all fight it the Ministry…"

"No, no, I don't want to hear. We obviously have different opinions on this, and I really don't want to get into a fight with you. Let's just talk about something else." They spent the rest of that evening chatting and laughing like they always did, but Alicia couldn't help but worry about Katie and what kind of trouble she might get into if she kept on seeing Arthur.


End file.
